Dorothy Straight was born on May 25, 1958, in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004) and Belinda Booth Crompton (1920–2015).[1] Her siblings include David Straight, Michael Straight Jr., Susan Straight, and Dinah Straight.[5]
In 1962, Straight, in response to her mother's question of "Who made the world?", wrote and drew her response all in one evening.[9] Her parents loved it so much that they sent it to Pantheon Books which published it in 1964, making her the youngest published author.[10][11]Kirkus Reviews praised her work as a child, writing:[9]
Her art work is in the mainstream of the Kindergarten approach to paint and paper -- totally refreshing use of color and a wild approximation of shape. Her concept of God's activities during the Creation are nothing if not complete -- after inventing the jungle and its wild animals, he went on to pins and thread, birds and bees. The importance children place on the familiar and the furniture of their surroundings comes through in Dorothy's words and pictures.[9]
